Starting a Small Business

There are many resources for people who want to start a small business. Through the Small Business Administration (SBA), established in 1953, the fed­eral government provides help. Its network of 110 offices in 100 cities throughout the country provides literature and counseling services. People also can hire professional small business consultants to answer their questions.

The overall message from people who give advice to would-be entrepreneurs is to get all the information you can before you decide.

There are numerous reasons people want to own a business of their own, such as personal indepen­dence, unlimited profit potential, and the opportuni­ty to work at something that they really love and at hours they choose. Many business leaders begin their careers as entre­preneurs after four years of undergraduate college training and even additional graduate school training. Others become successful entrepreneurs without special training.

Entrepreneurial Programs. Many colleges now offer programs that teach students how to start and operate a business. Basic information is combined with hands-on experience and the advice of successful business consultants. These programs help potential entrepreneurs decide whether their own ideas are good and learn how to follow through with them. With the high rate of business failure, this approach can prevent personal financial losses.

On-the-Job Training. A common way to learn about a business -and the opportunities for starting a similar one - is to learn while working for someone else. Several of the entrepreneurs mentioned earlier did just that. Then they had a source of steady income while planning their own businesses. In addition, about 50 percent of entrepreneurs start their businesses in industries in which they have some experience.

The Family. Evidence shows that people who come from families whose members were in business themselves are more likely to start their own compa­nies. Apparently it doesn't matter whether the busi­ness was a success or not. Relatives operating a business and enjoying the fruits of their labor pre­sent a "model" for a possible career.

Large and small businesses organize in different ways to meet their objectives. As you will learn later in the chapter, risk is diffused in corporations. Corporate leaders may risk their own jobs when they make major decisions that affect the future of the corporation negatively. But even if they lose their jobs, they have not lost personal investments. Because of the tremendous resources available to big business, a major failure in a large corpora­tion is less like­ly to close that business than a similar disaster in a small busi­ness. But risk and size are only part of the story. The very nature of the corporate business environment may not be suited to the independent personality and motivation of the typical entrepreneur. Large corporations may want bright and creative entrepreneurial talent to develop new or improved products or services. But large corporations, with their established procedures and layers of management authority, are seen as limiting innovation and the freedom many indepen­dent entrepreneurs seek.

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 1012